We hear the divine voice in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Notice the progression of thought:
- Paul greets the Corinthian Christians, emphasizes their relationship with Jesus the Christ, the one Lord (1 Corinthians 1:1-9).
- Based on the Lord Jesus’ authority, Paul passes on His message about unity (1 Corinthians 1:10-17).
- Paul directs their focus away from favorite leaders and toward “Christ crucified”— the Gospel that first called them together (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:2).
- Paul reaffirms that the Spirit is the source of his message (1 Corinthians 2:3-16).
My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. … We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4-5, 13).
We can unite with one mind because the one Spirit reveals “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). As Paul deals with divisions over names (1 Corinthians 3:4-6, 22), he concludes,
I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6).
“What is written” provides the guidelines for unity. It sets the boundary. To exalt and divide over men—even such heroes as Paul and Apollos—is to go beyond what is written (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:31). This is the truth we must learn.